(XINHUA)

Shown is the countdown clock for the 22nd Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

On January 20, China announced that President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

"This will be the first time a Chinese president will have attended a major international sports event hosted in another country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. Xi will be in Russia from February 6 to 8.

President Xi's attendance at the opening ceremony in Sochi shows China's support for the Olympics as well as Russia's work to host the games, Qin said. T

he 22nd Winter Olympics are due to take place from February 7 to 23 and will consist of 98 events.